Ghost Hunt: My Continuation
by akinaxx
Summary: This fanfic I created to be a continuation of the anime. But anyway, this is about other investigations that the SPR team tackles, and the relationship that continues to grow between Naru and Mai, slowly, very, very, very slowly. Furthur details in Ch.1
1. Chapter 1

Ghost Hunt: My Continuation

**Disclaimer: As completely sad as it is, I don't own Ghost Hunt. I want to read the novel so bad!**

File 1: Revenge after Death (This would actually be something like File 8 but since it's my chapters it is just going to start with 1)

I'm Taniyama Mai, a first year high school student. My part-time job is a bit unusual. The guy I work for is Shibuya Kazuya, a ghost hunter. A few days ago a man by the name of Morishita Kurogane asked for an investigation. He owned a small temple that was said to be the resting place of an evil war lord.

_Flashback_

"_The temple is always a favorite tourist spot. Many people come daily to sight see, pray, get their fortunes, and for the average troublemaker attempt to free the spirit of the war lord, from the feudal era, of his seal." The client, Morishita Kurogane informed Naru. "The seal is a simple Shinto binding spell, and has been in place for many years. But, recently strange things have been happening around the temple, and to the visitors."_

_There was a slight pause here, in which Naru raised an eyebrow. "What type of strange things?" he said to encourage the client to continue._

_Morishita-san sighed before continuing, "Many odd, and unusual things have happened. Children have been found unconscious in the woods surrounding the shrine, only one of these children have woken up, the rest are still in a comma. What's more we have women who have gone missing and come back without a memory of ever getting lost. Usually they come back with bruises, and cuts all over them, and again they state that they just appeared there. The family members of these people of course were in a terrible temper, and I got blamed, and accused of many violent and shameful acts." Here he paused again with his hands clenched into fists, and a face full of painful emotion._

_Mai looked at Naru worried. As she knew very well by now, he only took on cases that interested him. She felt sympathy for the poor man and hoped the Naru would take the case and help him._

"_So," Naru started, Mai's face lit up as Naru began to speak, "you want us to solve this case to clear your name? Am I right?" Mai's face fell. Naru still sat in his black leather armchair in the process of glaring the person into insignificance. _

_The client immediately took on the defensive but with a hint of offense. "Please don't take my request that way. That isn't how I meant it to come across, please, I beg of you, accept my request." After his pleading Morishita-san bowed his head down to his knees._

Needless to say Naru accepted, not completely unwilling, but definitely with suspicion of the client's intentions.

Now, Mai sat alone in the "base", one of the empty rooms that were part of the temple, waiting for orders from Naru. Earlier they'd set up their equipment, but their associates who weren't part of Shibuya Psychic Research (aka. SPR). This was the host of Mai's part-time job, run by seventeen year-old Shibuya Kazuya. Their associates consisted of Matsuzaki Ayako, a self-styled Shinto priestess, Houshou Takigawa, a Buddhist monk, John Brown, a Catholic priest/exorcist from Australia, Hara Masako, a spirit medium with her own television show, and Yasuhara Osamu, an extra brain for gathering data. None of them would show up until tomorrow, so all there was to do, for her anyway was to sit and watch the monitors. Naru and Lin, Naru's assistant, had gone to check out certain spots around the area where these occurrences happened the most. Once they'd thoroughly searched the temple grounds they'd planned to speak with some of the women who had disappeared. They also planned to talk with the child, but for that Naru insisted that Mai be present, and that they wait until the next day. Mai couldn't understand Naru's reasoning for this but then again, she rarely ever could.

She began to think about how strange it was to stay in the temple with only Lin-san, and Naru without Masako, or Ayako. As she furthered her thoughts she began to blush, she couldn't believe that she was thinking of such things. She slapped her cheeks twice lightly to disperse the blush before Naru, Lin, or the client walked in, and saw her. She sighed afterwards, no one had come in, and she still sat doing nothing but staring at the blank monitors. She rested her head on her arms which she had folded on the table, and closed her eyes.

She was now walking along a pathway that led up to the temple. It was a little misty out, and because of the weather the temple grounds were void of visitors. Mai looked around a little confused but soon enough determined that this was simply a dream. This deduction was proven correct when Naru came out of the mist and walked toward her. "Naru, what's going on?" she asked slowly. Naru remained silent as her usually he did in her dreams. Apparantly she wasn't going to get to hear his voice this time. 

Naru pointed behind him, where Mai could now distinctly hear voices. She nodded at him and moved forward. She found herself entering some of the forest that surrounded the temple. As she got closer she could tell that the voices were those of children. She began to walk faster, and found herself in front of a small boulder with a rope decorated with white paper spiraling at intervals along the rope, tied around the boulder. There was a small sign of to the side that declared; Fujioka Shun, warrior of our great feudal lord, let him rest in peace. Mai heard laughter coming from the other side of the grave. She walked around to the other side where she saw two little kids carving some characters into the base of the boulder. They giggled together as Mai walked to a position where she'd be behind the kids. There was one girl and one boy, the boy had been the one carving into the rock while the girl sat next to him and suggesting to him on what to draw next. It was a cute carving of the two holding hands and playing together, Mai smiled as she saw it. Then a chill set around the grave. Mai's eyes widened as a dark aura began to rise off of the boulder. She tried to warn the kids but before any sound could escape her lips a sudden roar followed by a mini-earthquake threw the kids backwards. Mai put her arms up in front of her to protect herself from the blast. Once it was over she looked around to find that the little girl had been thrown against one of the thick tree trunks and was knocked unconscious. Some of the stones that had surrounded the grave had been thrown along with the kids and one sat on the girl's stomach. Mai's eyes widened as she saw the blood coming from the corner of the girls mouth and the stain that had appeared behind the girl's head at the base of the tree. She looked around frantically for the little boy but found that he was fine and on his feet. She let out a sigh of relief that the boy was okay, until she saw the agony in his eyes. He was angry and sad for his friend's death. He hadn't realized that they'd been doodling on an important rock, let alone the grave of a powerful warrior. He didn't know that they had been punished for degrading his grave, and he didn't care. Mai began to run to the boy she let out a small, "No, stop!" But just when she was about to reach him, Naru appeared with his hand on her shoulder.

Mai wanted to listen to him, but she couldn't stand there and let the boy die. The small boy had picked up a tree branch that had fallen after the earthquake and began to charge at the rock. _What could he possibly do with a tree branch that will help?, _Mai asked herself. She wanted to look away but she was glued to the boys actions. He hit the grave with all of his anger and strength but instead of making a hit, like he'd hopped, the branch was forced back at him striking him on the back of the neck which forced his head forward making him hit his head, hard, on the boulder. Just as the boy hit his head and Mai saw his life leave him, she woke up.

**A/N: Well that's it for this chapter. I tried to make it a lot like the episodes. I kind of wanted this fanfic to be almost a continuation of the anime. So all of the characters are going to be as close as they can to their original selves, and the format for my chapters will be the same as in the anime, File 1, File 2, etc. I hope you all liked this chapter, and I'll be waiting for your reviews! Thanks a bunch! Please comment, I would like to hear your thoughts, or ways that I could improve on the characters or on the case. I will add in some NaruXMai moments once the story gets rolling. Plus, as you probably noticed, I haven't read the novel, but I know that it's really Gene in her dreams, but as I said I really want this to be like a continuation of the anime. So if that bothers you than please bare with me. Thank you! See ya next time!**

**Akinaxx**


	2. Chapter 2

Ghost Hunt: My Continuation

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt, by writing this fanfic I am, in no way claiming that I do.**

File 1: Revenge after Death, Part 2

I'm Taniyama Mai, a first year high school student. My part time job is a bit unusual. My boss is a seventeen year-old narcissist, Shibuya Kazuya; he's a ghost hunter. A few days ago a man named Morishita Kurogane, came with the request that we check out the rumor that the spirit of an ancient war lord is terrorizing the visitors to his shrine up in the mountains. But, according to what I saw, it could be more than just one evil spirit.

**Day 1**

**October**

After walking a ways Mai found herself surrounded by trees, and ahead of her, she could see the place where the supposed spirit had been sealed many centuries before. A slight breeze broke the silence that hung about the place. It rustled tree leaves making them flutter to the ground, and blew small clouds of dirt up and around Mai's feet. Her hair swayed with the wind but instantly went back into place. None of this fazed Mai. She gazed at the boulder with her eyes glazed over. She was remembering the dream she'd had, and the children that she'd seen die here.

Slowly, she began to step forward toward the spot where she'd seen the boy's head crash against the hard stone. She remembered the crack that had resonated throughout the woods when his skull had made contact with the rock. Mai flinched slightly at the memory, but continued forward. Light filtered through the trees making the sealing shrine shine. It glinted against the stones reflective surface. Mai stopped as she saw a face flash along with the light. Surprised she took a few steps backward and accidentally stepped on a stick. In the silence that surrounded the area, the sound was unexpected and frightening. A few crows took flight from their branches screeching as they flew away to a new destination.

Mai jumped, and then laughed at her own antics. "What am I doing? The spirit wouldn't be out to get me now would it? I'm being stupid; I should head back and check in with Naru." With a laugh she finished reassuring herself and returned to the main temple.

Naru looked out the window into the woods that had been stained a bright orange by the setting sun. His eyes showed their usual contemplative stare, and it seemed almost as if he were lost in thought.

Mai stopped in her tracks as a chill began to set over her. She looked around hopping to see whatever was coming, but she couldn't see anything. She tried walking a little faster but soon was unable to walk; it was as if she had suddenly become rooted to the spot. Without her consent, her feet began to take her towards the trees. Mai tried with all of her might to free herself from the pull towards the trees but her resistance was futile. Mai, finally giving up on freeing herself, tried to call for help but instead a hand covered her mouth started to pull her faster into the dark trees.

My closed her eyes as she felt herself being forced backwards; she wanted to scream for help but her voice was inaudible. No, one would be able to hear her out here anyway. 'Naru, save me!' she thought.

"Nau maku san manda, bazara dan kan!" Mai opened her eyes as she heard the voice and felt the invisible force leave her. Relieved, she smiled and greeted her savior with, "Arigatou, Bou-san!" After which Mai jumped and wrapped her arms around him.

Takigawa-san, was embarrassed but did manage to mutter out a slight "It was nothing." Before he managed to pry Mai off of him, while laughing at her excitement.

"Well, it looks like you're having fun." Ayako teased as she walked up behind Takigawa.

Mai became confused as she saw Ayako also walk up. Ayako replied to her questioning glace with a smile, "How are you doing, with that unfeeling boss of yours it must be tough."

"Ayako-san, you're here too? But, what are you doing here? Bou-san, I thought that you weren't coming until tomorrow." Mai mentioned while cocking her head to one side, thinking.

"I finished with my other job early, and as I made my way here, I bumped into Ayako, who was also heading over here, apparently finished with her extra work." Takigawa explained, "We'd just made it to the top of the stairs when we saw you were being taken away by something, and I'm willing to bet that whatever it was is what we're after here." He finished talking and looked back at the trees with a searching gaze. You could tell that he was trying to see or sense what had attacked Mai only a few seconds ago.

Apparently coming up with nothing, he sighed and instead asked Mai where the base was set up. She stared at him a minute wondering what it was he saw, or didn't see, but shook it off and guided both him and Ayako back to the base.

--- Slight time laps ---

"Mai was attacked?" Naru said with a hint of surprise in both his voice and face. His eyes widened a bit at the news, but immediately turned back into the stoic, business Naru that asked for all of the details.

Takigawa nodded and responded to his inquiry on the details of the event. "Ayako and I had gotten off our previous work, and decided that you could probably use our help, and had just arrived here when I saw Mai being dragged into the forest by some invisible force." Before continuing Takigawa took a quick glance at Mai, "I sent the spirit away with my usual warding spell. It took off shortly after and it seems that Mai has been unharmed by whatever it was, although I'd assume that it was waiting till it made it to the cover of the trees before taking any harmful actions against her."

After hearing this, Naru sat back and put his hand under his chin in a thoughtful manner. "But why did it have to?" he muttered to no one in particular, "There weren't any people around, and nobody would be able to see the spirit anyway. That would have to mean…" Naru trailed off after there, which the rest took as their cue to leave him to his thoughts. By now Naru had put himself into more than a hundred thousand situations trying to get insight on the spirits odd ritualistic actions. "Ritual…" Naru muttered again just as Mai had placed her hand on the door. "That may be the case." Naru got up from his position and began conversing with Lin who was watching the monitors and typing on his laptop. In a hushed voice he quickly relayed whatever he'd managed to think up and Lin began to quickly type up something on the computer.

Naru began to pace a bit, looking up at the three who had halted in the doorway like frozen statues still watched him with curiosity and interest. He paused in his steps and ordered, "Ayako, head out to the old war-lord's shrine and see if you can find any breach in the seal placed on his grave." Ayako nodded, and quickly left the room. "Bou-san, take Mai and scour the area for anything out of the ordinary, a circle of leaves, or a pattern drawn in the dirt, or maybe even a spirit ward somewhere other than the area near the shrine."

Bou-san nodded, replied, "Hai!" and dragged Main by the arm out of the room.

Just before she'd left, Mai had heard Naru whisper, "Be careful." Thinking that she was hearing things, she quickly looked back at him, but he was back to pacing and Lin was still typing away on his keyboard.

Bou-san continued to drag Mai down the corridor like a ragdoll while she sat and thought. After a short time Bou-san began to slow down and it seemed like it was harder for him to pull her along. He let go, and took a small break to catch his breath. Mai turned as she felt the pressure on her arm leave. "You know, it's getting hard to pull you around, do you think all of the sitting around you've been doing has allowed you to gain some weight." He asked her teasingly.

Mai made a fist at him at first but the then said slyly, "Or, has the lack of clients recently made you work less, and allowed _you_ to grow weak?" She laughed at Bou-san's nearly dumbfounded, and slightly mad expression.

"Want to say that again?" he asked playfully, and chased her off in the direction that they had planned to start their search.

They searched a full 180° around the perimeter of the temple, but they didn't find anything like what Naru had suggested. They finally happened upon the shrine of the warlord. Mai frowned as she saw the shrine, and Bou-san walked towards it saying, "So, this is where the big bad spirit sleeps huh?" He laughed a bit as he approached the small boulder that served for the grave of the ancient warlord.

Mai smiled and looked around, "Wasn't Ayako supposed to be here looking for a breach in the seal?" After she asked she began to walk around the area trying to see if maybe Ayako had found something a little ways out of the clearing and was investigating, but she couldn't find her.

Bou-san smirked, "I wouldn't worry about her Mai-chan, she probably didn't feel like working and went somewh-" He was cut off when he walked around the boulder and found Ayako covered in cuts and bruises, laying on the ground unconscious. "Mai-chan, come over here and give me a hand.", he ordered her. When Mai saw Ayako she rushed to her side. She was covered in injuries described by their client. She helped Bou-san carry Ayako back to the temple. They both nearly collapsed when they got there. The sun had set on their way back to the temple, and it was almost pitch-black outside now. Naru had ordered them out without thinking about the time, a first for him, they were sure, but currently that wasn't important. "Mai, get Lin, and Naru.", Bou-san told her.

She nodded her head, although in the dark, it was hard to see. She carefully made her way along the halls, there was no moon light to help her find her way. The New Moon was out and the only thing to light her path was the stars. She finally made it back to the base out of breath and covered with leaves and dirt.

"Mai" both Lin, and Naru said out of surprise. They both got up, unsure of what to do.

"Ayako… she's been … hurt…, Bou-san.. has her.. out front." She managed to mutter audibly even though she was out of breath. Lin and Naru passed Mai as she sat down to slow her breathing, and went out front to help Bou-san get Ayako to a room where they could stop the bleeding of her cuts, and assess how badly she'd been hurt.

After Naru and Lin left, and Mai was alone in the doorway taking deep breaths she heard a giggle. Forgetting the current crisis Mai looked around, she stood and walked to the end of the corridor and looked out into the night. She heard the laugh again. 'What is that?' she thought, then she realized, 'It sounds like a child's laugh.' Mai's eyes widened and she fell to her knees in shock. She tried again to peer into the darkness hoping to see something that would help her clarify what she'd heard and what had happened to Ayako, but it was useless, it was too dark for her to see anything, even the glow of a hitodama.

**A/N: Hi everyone! I know, it's been a while since I posted File 1, but I've been juggling this between homework, classwork, (I sometimes, manage to write it in AV Tech), and just normal fun time. I had a bit of trouble writing this part, because I wasn't sure where to go with it, but I ended up bringing Ayako and Bou-san in earlier than I planned, and it seems to be going well. Please tell me if I'm doing something wrong that isn't faithful to the story, or if you have an idea on a new case, an event that can happen on this case or a future one, or if you have an idea on how I can improve on this fanfic. Again, I'm going to be by the anime here, and speaking of which, I realize that I haven't put the days and month in the last part, but I put it on this one! And it will be on all the others after this. Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you like my continuations of Ghost Hunt!**

**P.S. oh! And if you have any questions of vocabulary used like "hitodama", feel free to ask.**


	3. Chapter 3

Ghost Hunt: My Continuation

**Disclaimer: I do NOT claim to own Ghost Hunt. **

File 1: Revenge After Death, Part 3

**Day 3**

**October**

"You had one of _those_ dreams again, and you didn't tell us?!" Bou-san asked rather loudly.

Mai nodded her head, but kept it down and studied the patterns in the wood flooring.

_It had been two days since the SPR had arrived at the temple that was supposedly haunted by an ancient warlord. Soon after arriving, I'd had a vision that showed the death of two children near the grave of the warlord. Was it trying to prove the warlord guilty? Or was it trying to tell me something else? I went out to the warlord's grave to further examine my suspicions and to find out if what my dreams had shown me was true. I didn't find anything, because I had been too frightened to stick around, and again, I found myself in deep trouble. If Bou-san and Ayako hadn't shown up when they did, I might have turned out like one of victims. _

_That's exactly what happened to Ayako. Naru had us split up, and when we found Ayako she was severely beaten. Naru and Lin had brought Ayako inside since Bou-san had already supported her from the warlord's grave to the temple. Afterwards I heard children laughing, what's going on?_

A doctor had come to check on Ayako's injuries but said that he couldn't find any cause for them, nor was there anything he could do to help her heal. Mai lead him to the door and thanked him for his services. Naru hadn't come to see the doctor and since carrying her into the room, had been locked intensely on files that he wouldn't let Mai see. But, the day for the interviews with the victims was finally here, and Morishita-san had agreed to watch over Ayako while Lin, Mai, Bou-san, and Naru left for the hospital where the latest victims were being held.

They ended up in front of a large white hospital with four floors of patients suffering for a number of various reasons. Naru walked purposefully into the building and without checking at the desk hopped onto the elevator, followed by Mai and Lin. Mai glanced at Naru who was looking at the numbers above the doors intensely. Mai looked at the numbers and saw the number two light up, and the doors open, but Naru made no motion to get off the elevator.

It seemed, to Mai, that Naru was more on edge, and contemplative today, then usual. Mai thought hard about it and suddenly heard Naru calling her, "Mai." It was his usual tone, but when she looked up to ask what it was he wanted she found that both Naru and Lin were already off the elevator on the third floor and that the doors were beginning to close. Panicking, Mai quickly shuffled out the doors and barely managed to make it out before the doors closed. She sighed in relief, glad at making it off and tried to return her heartbeat to normal.

"Mai, if you don't hurry you'll be left behind." Naru called to her again. She looked up and saw Lin and Naru halfway down the hall already. Mai groaned out of aggravation and jogged lightly to catch up to them.

Naru stopped in front of a room and knocked twice before entering without being invited in. "I'm Shibuya Kazuya from Shibuya Psychic Research, I'm here to ask a few questions about the incident that happened at the temple owned by Morishita-san." He introduced and completely disregarded both Lin and Mai as if they were simply decoration. Another bit of strange behavior, usually Naru would at the very least mention that they worked for him. Mai furrowed her brow to try to untangled the matted mess that was Naru as she knew him, but it was too much to think about in the present situation. She looked up and saw a boy no older than ten years old sitting up in a hospital bed, he had many bandages around his head, arms, and face. The boy looked at her without any emotion, she smiled and waved at him kindly, he ignored her and pouted.

Mai didn't like the attitude but decided to forgive the kid considering what he'd gone through. A woman, someone she assumed to be the boy's mother was sitting in a chair near his bed. As Naru introduced himself the woman stood up and came around to greet them.

"Shiroi Minami, pleasure to meet you." She gestured towards the chairs that were placed around the boy's bed. Mai let Naru and Lin sit first and stood behind the two as Naru began to interrogate the boy of his experience back at the shrine, except the boy wouldn't answer. He would only shake or nod his head, an attempt at cooperation.

Mai watched the boy as he gave answers without using his voice. Naru thanked the mother for letting him as his questions and she waved away the thanks and led Lin and Naru to the door almost as if she were pushing them out. Mai had seen this sort of behavior before, she sat down in the chair next the boy and asked him, "What's your name?"

The boy looked at her for a moment, everyone who had been leaving turned around at hearing her speak. "Now that's enough, your boss has already finished asking him questions, please leave, he needs to rest."

Shiroi-san made a movement to pull Mai up from the chair, but stopped when the boy replied, "Shiroi Keisuke"

Mai smiled at him and said, "Hey, Kei-chan I'm Taniyama Mai, would you mind if I asked you a few questions?" Keisuke shook his head and Lin came beside Mai, taking the open seat and opened up his laptop ready to take notes on whatever answers Keisuke gave.

Naru gave Mai a page from his notebook that had several questions written on them, Mai's eyes travelled across the page, she nodded silently and then suddenly her eyebrows furrowed and she looked over at Naru. "What exactly does this mean?" she asked, pointing to a word on the third question. He gave her the definition and she laughed off the feeling of stupidity that seemed to rise within her whenever she worked directly with Naru.

"Okay then, Kei-chan why were you at the shrine owned by Morishita-san?" she asked him softly.

Kei looked down at his blankets and then responded, "I live near the shrine and the people there are nice, it has a big open space so it's fun to play there."

He smiled, apparently remembering a fond memory of playing at the shrine, Mai returned the smile and asked him the next question, "Why did the police find you collapsed out in the middle of the surrounding forest?"

This time Kei took a little while longer before giving his answer, "I was playing ball that day and the ball had bounced off into the trees, I went to go get it but then…" he trailed off. His eyes were wide, but not afraid, the scene must have been shocking for him.

"Kei-chan, what happened after you went into the trees?" Mai prompted, wondering if she'd be able to get the boy to explain.

"There was another boy there, but he was clear." Keisuke randomly blurted out. "I could see through him, except I shouldn't have been able to, right?" He seemed a little shaken up.

Mai ignored his question and asked, "What did that boy do?"

Despite not getting his question answered, Keisuke responded to Mai's next question immediately, "He laughed at me, then my head felt heavy and then after that I woke up here in the hospital."

After this Naru turned to Shiroi-san and asked her, "Where was he found?"

She shivered as if the memory had left a lasting fright within her. "He was found a week after he'd gone missing by a police officer who was investigating the other reports of missing children. He'd found Keisuke face down behind a large boulder on the property. He said that it was some sort of grave for a malevolent spirit." She whispered her explanation in a pit of terror before shoving the three of them out of the hospital room blubbering on about how the interrogation was upsetting Kei.

Naru left silently at her command not bothering to argue against the stressed parent. Instead he seemed to become lost in his own thoughts. Something in what he'd heard had started to turn the wheels in his head. He led both Lin and Mai out to the van and drove back silently to the temple where Bou-san was waiting at the top of the stairs for them.

When Mai finally reached the top, Bou-san quickly grabbed a hold of her arm and began to steer her towards the main temple. "Ayako's regained consciousness."

Arriving in Ayako's room after hearing this Mai found Ayako sitting up with a disgruntled visage trying to fix her hair. Mai smiled, "Ayako-san, how are you feeling?"

She jumped at hearing Mai's voice and then smiled at her, "I've felt better."

"But you can manage to answer some questions now, right?" Naru inquired almost icily as he entered the room. In response Ayako's face fell and she nodded her head. "Good, then what happened after you split up to search the grounds?"

Ayako rubbed her forehead before saying, "It's still a little fuzzy, but I remember that I had gone out to investigate the area around that old grave before check the rest of the area when a strange mist surrounded me. I didn't sense a spirit at first so it was difficult to direct any form of an attack. Just as I had pinpointed the cause of the mist my vision blurred, and it had felt like someone had dropped a ton of bricks on my head, there was also a feeling of something sharp running across my skin…" Ayako trailed off on the last line, a little lost in her own memory.

Naru quickly snapped his notebook shut, stood up, and left the room. Mai looked after him, curious. He'd left abruptly, and his features had looked distorted into that of more than just contemplation. She was worried about what he might have seen in Ayako's recount of her experience.

By late afternoon that same day Ayako was up and walking around, Naru hadn't returned and Mai sat with the same dazed expression that she had when they'd first arrived at the site. But if Naru was getting this involved it probably meant that the case was nearing its end.

**A/N: Hi, hi! Akinaxx here, thought I'd say hello to all who read this, and thank you very much for making it this far through my continuation of Ghost Hunt. I've tried my very best to replicate the character's personalities and also give you the audience and interesting case to muddle through. I hope you've enjoyed what you've read so far and that it reminds you of the show we all know and love! I'm open to ideas, I'd love to hear from everyone and if there's a case that I can post for File 2, please tell me, chapter five will be up much faster if you do, although I still have to work out the ending for chapter four. I hope to hear from you later, and if you have any questions don't be afraid to PM me, thank you!**

**~ Akinaxx**


	4. Chapter 4

Ghost Hunt: My Continuation

**Disclaimer: I do not claim to own Ghost Hunt; I simply feel that the anime should have been longer to further follow the many cases that the SPR team tackles.**

File 1: Revenge After Death, Part 4

**October**

**Day 4**

Mai walked around the temple enjoying the sunshine. Naru had gone off on his own again leaving everyone of the SPR team confused and out of the loop. He seemed to like keeping secrets simply so that he could make everyone else look stupid. Mai nearly emitted a growl of anger as she gritted her teeth thinking about all of Naru's annoying quirks. Her expression softened for a moment but then she shook her head and headed into the base, sliding back the door with a loud clack. Everyone inside the base turned to look at her, seeing this Mai grinned sheepishly and gently closed the door behind her. Looking back at everyone she realized that her disturbance had barely ruffled her fellow team members.

Lin-san and Bou-san were concentrating on the film obtained from the cameras stationed throughout the grounds, Ayako-san was flipping through some pages, pretending to be reading, while she actually occupied her time gazing off into space, Mai smiled and looked at the four remaining seats, one of them being the spot that Naru had abandoned. The three others being the spaces for John, Masako, and Yasuhara-san who were told that their assistance wasn't needed by Naru.

Mai took her seat and preoccupied herself with daydreaming. So far this case had been dangerous right from the start. People had been injured by a clearly malevolent spirit, but the question wasn't what the spirit's objective was but rather which spirit was the cause. According to her vision the angry spirit of the warlord murdered two little kids, but earlier after Ayako was found unconscious she had heard a child's laugh. Did that mean that the spirits of the children were responsible? Or was the warlord truly to blame? Mai threw herself backwards so that she could see the ceiling. Her brain throbbed from the confusing decision between the culprits, she relieved herself of the question by coming up with a new one.

Propping herself up on her elbows Mai asked, "Where do you suppose Naru went off to?" Her eyes scanned the room locking for a moment on everyone.

Ayako looked up from her 'reading' to give Mai a questioning gaze, "As if I'd know, the boy's always off doing his own thing," she softened a bit after saying this then continued, "but don't worry about it Mai, he'll be back soon, and knowing him he'll be back with the solution to this case."

"That's right, just be patient." Bou-san added in unnecessarily. Mai sighed. She knew all that, but no one seemed bothered enough to answer her question. Unable to sit still Mai stood and left the room.

Out in the open air Mai took a deep breath than headed out to the temple grounds. _What's Naru thinking? He always leaves on his own without telling anyone where he's going! It's like he doesn't care._ Mai's pace slowed and she was now at the top of the staircase. From the top she got a good view of the road below, Naru wasn't there. _It's like he doesn't care…_

Clenching her fists Mai turned away from the stairs and headed towards the woods. _Fine, then I'll solve the case without him._ She hurried into the clearing where the boulder sat, lonely and forlorn. Mai gulped, sure she had thought about solving the case herself, but that was much easier said than done. Where was she to start? Mai took to walking circles around the boulder examining it for any strange markings or sinister feelings, but nothing jumped out at her as suspicious or out of place.

She sat down against the base of a tree and glared at the grave. She felt calm around the boulder now… why was she getting so sleepy? Usually she'd been very uptight and frightened by the strong aura that created an unbearable pressure, but now she could feel herself drift into unconsciousness.

**She woke up with a start, there were voices yelling all around her. She could see balls of light making their way through the trees. Thinking that she had slept outside too late and had made the others worry, Mai tried to get their attention. She shouted out to them, but no one answered her calls. Afraid of being left behind she went to catch up with the search party when she felt someone catch hold of her wrist. Looking back Mai saw Naru. "Naru, you came back! Does that mean that you've solved the case?"**

**Naru shook his head, not quite, "There's still something I don't quite understand. Follow me." He motioned over to where the grave was.**

**Mai didn't want to but followed him anyway. Naru pointed towards the bodies of two small children. Mai recognized them as the two that had died in her previous dream. It hit Mai; this was one of those dreams, meaning that the Naru standing beside her was only the one from her dreams, not the original. That meant that Naru still hadn't returned. She sighed then asked, "Ne, Naru? What happened to these kids?"**

**Naru's eyes narrowed, then he responded with, "The warlord's spirit killed them. He was a man that never liked being around children, he'd often get drunk and cause trouble among his female servants. His temper would only settle after brutally killing several of his male servants, but he hadn't been that way until his younger sister who was separated from him by a 27 year difference died in an accident. After that I guess you could say his actions became his way of getting back at the world that took her from him."**

"**That's so sad." Mai whispered as tears of sadness and of anger welled in her eyes. "But that doesn't excuse what he did, and why are the kids now causing trouble?"**

**Naru crossed his arms in wonder. "I'm not certain of that yet. The spirit was originally angry by the desecration of his grave, but I'm not sure as to why their spirits caused mischief after it might be best to quell their anger before performing an exorcism, either way, try using a mantra until I figure out the rest of this case."**

**Mai nodded and started off towards the road to consciousness when Naru called from behind, "Mai." **

**She turned, and he continued, "Be careful."**

**Mai nodded and continued on her way.**

**Day 5**

"Wait so Naru told you to try an exorcism?" Bou-san asked when Mai relayed the information she'd learned from her dream.

Mai nodded. "Yes, he said that we needed to find out why the spirits are angry and calm them in order to help them to move on."

Bou-san sighed, rubbing the back of his head, "Seems more of a job for Masako then for any of us now doesn't it?"

"Yes, shouldn't we call her and ask if she can make her way out here?" Ayako asked, clearly agreeing with Bou-san so she wouldn't have to do any work. Joining in the conversation she hoped no one would notice that yet again she'd been of little help during this case.

Mai shook her head, "Unfortunately, Masako has another job right now, and Naru had originally told her that she wouldn't be needed for this case after I called her the first time. Shortly afterwards it seems she got a client and is unable to come to our aid."

"Masaka!" Ayako groaned. She leaned back disgruntled with the situation.

Mai turned to Bou-san, "Well, I guess that means that it's your turn Bou-san, ganbatte!" Playfully Mai patted him on the back with a wide grin on her face.

"No way…" He mumbled to himself. He looked at Ayako for help but she shrugged her shoulders as if to say, 'It's all yours.' Dejected, Bou-san slowly shuffled his way out of the room to prepare for his exorcism. Ayako and Mai giggled softly as they watched him leave the room.

Mai and Ayako stood behind Bou-san who was standing in front of the gravestone. He'd already started his mantra and all three spirits were reacting. The air was filled with an eerie mist and Mai found that it was hard to breathe. "Nau mak san manda bazara dan kan" Bou-san continued on with his mantra as the temperature began to drop. Mai shivered uncontrollably. Ayako spotted this and gave Mai a warm smile whispering, "Hang in there, if this works will be rid of it soon."

Mai nodded, but wondered if it was possible to exorcise several angry spirits without first purifying them. As soon as that thought was complete a blast of energy sent all three psychics flying away from the source. Mai screamed as she skidded along the ground away from the grave. Propping herself up she saw Bou-san getting back to his feet and Ayako unconscious, her head resting against a tree trunk.

Just when Bou-san was going to restart his chant the confident and rash voice said, "You're all pathetic." Mai turned around to see Naru no less than two steps away from her.

"Naru!" Mai yelled, excited about his return.

Naru didn't even glance at her as he walked up to bat, pushing Bou-san aside and facing the spirits, his eyes hardening. At first that's all he did, he just glared them down, but then he began to glow. The light was like that of static electricity.

"Oy, Naru-chan." Bou-san tried to stop him but when he tried to pull him back the power repelled him.

Naru raised his arms up in the air, his right hand in a fist, he was directing his power to that point just like what he had done in the cave by the sea when he destroyed the driftwood Buddha statue. Waves of his energy radiated throughout the area, a high-pitched shrill came after it. Mai covered her ears to protect against the annoying sound.

Then, Naru brought his hand down releasing a shocking yellow bolt of energy hurtling not towards the spirits but toward the boulder that served as a grave for all three. The energy blast hit it, sending the boulder, in shatters around the area. Almost immediately afterward the presences of all three spirits disappeared.

Naru walked away without a word. Bou-san carried Ayako back as Mai gave the destroyed shrine a last backward glance.

**Day 6**

"Thank you so much! I really appreciate you and your crew for coming out here, I realize that this must have been very difficult on you. I'm thankful that you cleared up the communities misconceptions of me." Morishita-san was saying as he saw the SPR team off the next morning.

"I'm glad that we could be of service." Naru said with a curt nod. He had fainted after using that strange power again but fortunately didn't need to be hospitalized like last time.

_As it turns out it wasn't the kids' fault that they were causing mischief. The boulder that had served as the grave for the warlord had ended up soaking up the energy of spirits since the time of the warlord's seal. The kids, after dying there were also a victim to it. The women who were taken in were victim to the warlord's lust for the flesh, and the children that came near the shrine that were found injured were victim to the warrior's wrath. The kids seemed to be innocent of all crime. Naru had gone to research more about what had happened after two kids got lost twenty years ago. As it turns out, their bodies were never found because no one wanted to go near the old shrine. Before leaving we held a proper burial for them giving our best regards for what is to come for them now. So ended the case of the Morishita Shrine Case. _

**A/N: Hey-ho! Akinaxx here again with another chapter finished! I worked all day to finish this. I've made you all wait far too long for this chapter. I'm sorry about the ending being reminiscent of the last episode but as I was rewatching the anime I realized that this was really the only way to end this case. So, give me your thoughts about this case, how it could have been done better, what you liked about it and all of that good stuff, and then make sure to send in requests or suggestions for the next case otherwise I'll have to take a real case and turn it into the SPR teams new challenge. I've been watching a lot of ghost shows trying to get ideas and I hope that the next case, and chapter is to your liking! Remember, Comment!**

**Ja ne!**

**Akinaxx**


	5. File 2: Until Death Do Us Part, Part 1

Ghost Hunt: My Continuation

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt! It's a sad fact that I am slowly getting over. Plus, the idea for this case file came from: mitsuchan325. And I had some help brainstorming this file thanks to: Deathbyfire1222. Thank you both!**

File 2: Until Death Do Us Part, Part 1

**November**

**Day 1**

It was another day at the SPR office. Mai was preparing tea for her narcissistic boss as usual while Naru and Lin worked separately in their own rooms. Mai put Naru's set of tea on a tray and carried it to the door with the gold name plate, proof of his true nature and knocked before entering with her usual smile. "I brought your tea, Naru." she said with a grin.

Without a glance up from the papers he was flipping through, he gave a simple "thanks" and Mai left knowing that his silence was her dismissal. It was the same pattern as the many days before.

Then, Mai heard the door open. _A new client! _She thought and rushed to greet them. As she approached the door Mai found a young woman with long blonde hair waiting nervously her hands clenching her small handbag so tightly that her knuckles were white.

"Welcome, do you have an investigation request?" Mai asked her politely. The woman stared at her quizzically. Taking in the woman's strange appearance Mai froze. _She's a foreigner! What should I say?_

While quietly agonizing over this, the woman replied, "Um, yes, are you the one in charge here?"

Perplexed as to why she understood the foreigner's language Mai was struggling for an answer when Naru came out of his office with the empty tray. Apparently Mai had left it behind before and it had obscured his invaluable paperwork. Assessing the situation in the cool manner which he knew all too well he asked, "Mai is she a client?"

Again Mai began searching for a right answer when the woman interrupted her rambling with, "Are you the one in charge?"

~Slight Time Skip~

Naru had Mai prepare a new pot of tea for both him and their new client, who they now knew to be Maria-san. Born from foreigners, she'd spent her whole life in Japan and had recently come across some inheritance from a long distance relative. He was a very distant cousin who had no other living relatives besides Maria-san and her immediate family. He'd owned a small house on a cliff that overlooked the sea. He used it to rent out to prospective tenants but for some reason none of them stayed in the house for long. Now, Maria-san owned the place, and was doing the same as her relative had and found that she had a hard time keeping a tenant in the place too. She talked with the last residents and found out some startling information. The residents said that many things happened in that house. The furniture would vibrate, indentations, like someone was sitting down would appear on the mattresses and spirits were seen roaming the grounds outside the house.

Maria-san shuddered at the thought of what was going on out there, and fell silent as she completed her story. Naru went deep in thought, his hand on his chin, staring off into the distance. Then suddenly snapping out of his revere turned to Maria-san and claimed that he'd take the request.

~Time Skip~

Unloading the van at the house, the SPR team including extras, John Brown, Hara Masako, Bou-san, and Ayako, set up the base and placed cameras where needed. Gathering in what was supposed to be a small dining room Naru and Lin turned on all the monitors and checked the sound quality.

Bou-san collapsed into a chair exhausted from the expanse of the land despite the size of the lodgings. "I don't think I'll be able to move again for weeks. What's up with this property? If they have so much land why don't they expand on it?" he sighed and then let his head fall to rest on the chair back.

"It's probably so that they can they keep the surrounding area's natural feel. If you have some extravagant building here, you'd miss out more on the subtle beauties, like the cliff view that over sees the ocean." John replied.

Bou-san looked at him for a moment before breaking out in a grin. "Yes, I suppose so." He then stretched and then directed the conversation towards Naru as he asked, "Anyway, isn't this case a little out of your genre? This seems to be a pretty average case; I'm a bit curious as to why you accepted this Naru-bou."

Naru just continued to fiddle with the monitors and converse to Lin in whispers.

Bou-san shrugged. "I figured as much." he muttered.

Mai giggled a little at Bou-san's effort, but even she didn't know what interested Naru so much about this case. It definitely wasn't like past cases that he'd taken on. Mai's train of thought was derailed after Maria-san entered the room with another woman with long, pin-straight brown hair with eyes to match. Everyone in the room turned to them. The new woman's gaze was turned slightly downward, as to not make eye contact with anyone.

Naru got up and greeted Maria-san, "Maria-san, who is this, the last tenant?"

Maria nodded, "Well, one of them. This is Kagami Makoto." She looked to the other woman, who then looked up at everyone in the room with fiery eyes.

"I lived here for three months with my husband. We moved out about a week ago due to the strange occurrences that happened while we were housed here." Her voice cracked, she carefully lifted her right hand up to her throat and tried clearing it three times before continuing, "It started out with little things, the house would get colder, random objects around the room would be thrown against the wall, and there were strange noises at night. At first we really didn't think much of it since no one got hurt, and the activity never bothered our daily lives. Then, my niece came to visit. She had been acting strangely one night after staying with us and when we asked her what was wrong she wouldn't tell us, and instead ran to the cliffs edge and dived into the ocean. Her body resurfaced on the beach below down in the cove. My brother is still trying to grasp this reality. But, I guess you could say that that was the final straw. We quickly packed our bags and moved out as quickly as possible." After this she fell silent as her eyes glazed over with tears.

Kagami-san excused herself and Maria-san stuck around the base in case she was needed.

Naru and Lin continued their usual whispering so Mai decided to take this time to take a look around the grounds. It was getting close to sunset and Mai thought that the sunset from the cliff's view would look stunning. Needless to say, she was looking forward to seeing it. After making it to the cliff Mai shivered as the cold wind from the sea blew in. "Is there really a ghost in such a place?" she asked herself. Warily she eyed the edge of the cliff not wanting to fall off into the sea.

She took was backing away when she heard someone call, "Mai," from behind her, making her jump. Whirling around she saw Naru standing behind her.

"Ah, Naru!" Mai sighed out of relief. "What are you doing out here? I thought you and Lin-san were on to something with this case."

Naru walked up to her replying, "We had something but it's not enough at this point. You disappeared and Bou-san said that he'd seen you heading for the cliff. I came out here to warn you to be careful. Knowing you, you would end up falling off for one reason or another." He smirked and began walking back to the house.

Mai stuck her tongue out at him before muttering to herself, "You don't have to tell _me_ that." She turned back towards the sunset and saw what she'd been waiting for. The beautiful reflections of the sunset on the ocean were dazzling and Mai couldn't help grinning when she caught sight of it. She walked forward a bit to get a better view and sadly thought, "If only Naru could have stayed long enough to appreciate this." Just then, a chill ran up her spine. Mai looked around but didn't see anything. "It can't be." Then it hit her. Someone or something pushed her and now she could feel herself tumbling towards the waves below, crashing menacingly against the cliff face as if creating an example of what it planned to do to her. Mai squeezed her eyes shut and screamed, "Naru!"

**A/N: Cliffy! Yay! And, an update! That's good too now isn't it? Sorry about not updating, although school has started I really don't have an excuse for the lateness other than simple writers block. I hope that I can cure it soon and get the next chapter posted so that I'm not leaving everyone on the edge of their seats for months on end. I'd still like to hear about ideas for how to better the chapters and any ideas for future files and such. Any ideas are welcome! If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask, k? Thank you so much for reading and I hope to hear from you! See you next time!**

**~Akinaxx**


	6. File 2: Until Death Do Us Part, Part 2

Ghost Hunt: My Continuation

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Ghost Hunt!**

Key:

Normal

_Dream_

File 2: Until Death Do Us Part, Part 2

Mai saw the ocean waves crashing, menacingly against the rocky cliff side and screamed, "Naru!" Squeezing her eyes shut Mai prayed that somehow she'd be miraculously saved. She felt a slight pressure around her stomach and opened her eyes out of shock. In front of her was the dark shadow of the rocks. Looking down at her waist she realized that someone's black sleeved arm was wrapped around her waist and they were both hanging from the edge.

Glancing up to see her savior, and already knowing who she'd find, Mai met Naru's contorted features as he struggled to keep both of them from falling into the watery depths of the imposing sea. "Naru!" Mai squeaked out of surprise. She knew that she'd prayed for a miracle but couldn't believe that it had worked. Looking back down at the water she wasn't so sure of how to consider the situation. Was she lucky to be saved by Naru? Or should she be kicking herself for getting him involved in another strange and life threatening situation? Mai was clearly quite divided in her opinion of where she should stand on the matter and was interrupted from her thoughts when she heard Naru's voice come from above her.

"Hang in there. Will get out of this somehow, I'm sure Lin will come out here once he hears that I had gone out to warn you about the cliff's edge." He said simply. Mai could only wonder how he managed to stay so calm in situations like this. The light continued to fade behind them casting a sparkling glow around Naru as if he were some sort of saint. Mai blushed and quickly turned her head away. She knew what he would think of the idea and how his narcissistic attitude would turn that thought into some corrupted comment.

Wanting a diversion from thoughts of what would happen if Naru lost his grip and went plummeting into the crashing waves Mai searched for some line of topic to discuss. "Why do you put yourself in situations like this?" she blurted out randomly without thinking.

Naru gave her a strange look before responding coldly with, "You're the one who keeps finding trouble, not me." He shifted his hold on her slightly making her swing uncomfortably over the ominous death that awaited them below. Mai could see ever so slightly that he was straining to keep the both of them from slipping. Mai's eyes softened a bit and she thought to herself, "Please, someone, save us!"

Shortly after she felt a strange tug around her waist and craned her neck up to see Naru being pulled up to safety by Lin-san and Bou-san. Everyone else standing back; ready to lend a hand if needed. Soon Mai found herself upon sturdy ground. Oh how much she loved it. After hanging in the air as long as they had to have something beneath her feet was reassuring.

"Naru!"

"Mai-chan!"

"What do you think you were doing?" Both Bou-san and Lin-san said in unison. They looked at each other for a moment and cleared their throats while looking away from each other. That was a little awkward for them. "What happened?" Bou-san asked again more gently this time.

The question was directed at Mai; a bit confused Mai looked around and noticed that everyone's attention was on her. Mai looked towards Naru who was looking disinterested in her direction. She sighed. 'I should have as suspected as much from Naru.' She thought to herself and after a brief moment of silence whispered, "I was pushed off."

An instant ruckus began and Mai looked at each of her companions trying to follow the several conversations that were occurring around her all at once.

"Again! How is it that this girl manages to go straight into the thick of things? She never fails to get into trouble no matter what case we're working on!"Ayako near hysterics shrieked as she looked around at the property as if the spirits would jump out any minute to explain it to her.

"Don't expect me to have an answer; it's this vulgar child's way of wanting attention perhaps?" Masako asked from behind her sleeve.

"Don't be silly. Mai's a latent psychic it explains why she has such an attraction for spirits. They must be able to sense it in her somehow, and whether they come to her for aid or for some other purpose they've made it plain that they've got a liking for her." Laughed Bou-san, he obviously wasn't taking the whole thing all that seriously as each time she was saved, but he failed to think of what would happen had Naru not gotten there in time or worse hadn't been there at all.

"Maybe she should stay inside for the remainder of the investigation." John muttered not wanting to annoy anyone in particular with his words. Least of all Mai or Naru.

"If whatever's here wants her, and has enough power to throw her over the cliff it's possible that it has enough power to pull her out here by force." Naru stated to the quarreling team. Everyone went silent.

"Well, then I propose we work on identifying the problem here as soon as we can." Bou-san remarked, and placing a hand on Mai's shoulder guided her back towards the house. He laughed to himself as they left the others behind. "It truly is very scary how you have the innate ability to attract danger to your side like a magnet."

Mai looked down at her shoes which were in the process of crunching helpless blades of grass, flattening them to the ground and popping halfway up as her foot left it behind. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to cause so much trouble."

Bou-san smiled and waved his hands in front of him as he quickly replied with, "Oh, I'm not trying to reprimand you or anything it's just that it's scary to think of what might have happened if Naru–bozu hadn't been there.

Mai smiled sadly at him and then dropped into pace with her own train of thought. Many ideas and confusing points came to her mind as she mulled over what had happened to her as she fell off the cliff. One, why was she the one to be pushed off? Clearly it was specifically targeting someone who was alone on the cliff. Two, how had Naru managed to get to her in time? He'd been too far away by her account to reach her before she fell. It's not like she wasn't grateful for being caught but the fact itself was questionable. Plus, something about the situation didn't quite feel right. There was something ominous about someone being alone on that cliff during sunset.

_Huh? When did it become so dark? I guess the sun must have set. But what am I doing outside? I'm fairly certain that I went inside the house with Bou-san earlier after explaining the story of what happened in the latest near-death experience. She sighed at her rotten luck and habit of being helplessly scatterbrained and set off towards the house once more. As she approached she saw someone moving about in the minimal light cast out from the windows. It was a woman in about her mid twenties and platinum blonde hair kneeling in a drafty cotton dress in the mud beneath the window. Her features were screwed up with rage as her fists clenched the windowsill._

_Mai moved in closer and looked into the house from a bit behind the woman. Catching sight of movement Mai focused in and saw a man in his late thirties eating something, supposedly his dinner, out of a small bowl and smiling warmly at the person next to him, his green eyes shimmering with mirth. There a girl, no older than Mai, sat her coils of red hair flowing down her back and her brown eyes fixed on the man before her. She couldn't hear what they were talking about but every laugh caused the lady beneath the window to press her nails further and further into the palm of her hands. Mai looked at her pitifully, her eyes softening when suddenly the woman shot up, now on her feet with visible horror plastered on her face. _

_Trying to follow her gaze Mai looked in and saw that the man had the girl in his arms and was leading her further into the house. Mai didn't have to take a second guess to figure out what this meant. From the looks of things it seemed that the man inside was cheating on his wife who was out here, with the young girl that had been sitting next to him. The woman was in a fury; she was now unable to control her anger and instead of going in to break up whatever had started in there, stocked off towards the forest. _

_The scenery began to fade and now she was surrounded by the familiar empty space except for the usual floating orbs of light. And if that's how it is than he should be here. Mai turned around hoping to catch a glimpse of the reason she dealt with the strange dreams. _

_There he was. The usual stance and smile awaited her. "Naru!" she smiled. He held out his hand, "Did you understand?" _

_She looked at him quizzically. "Understand? What do you mean?" Her thoughts flashed back to the dream she'd just witnessed. "Oh, sort of." She looked down guiltily. _

_Naru's face softened more so and he reassured her by replying, "It's fine. You don't have to understand it all just yet. There's still more for me to show you, but I thought that you should see this much before she reveals herself again." He faded out and Mai was left with one last thought as she began to awake._

_She?_

**Day 2**

"Okay let's see what bad boy tried to send Mai over the cliff; I'll be sure to take care of it right away!" Bou-san yelled out cheerily. He gave Mai a wide grin before turning back towards Naru who was fiddling with the monitors.

"Unfortunately none of the equipment was set up at the time of the accident but afterwards I had Lin set up a camera out there in hopes that whatever it was would reappear again." He hit play on the tape and turned the volume up. For a long moment there was silence and the screens were completely clear then suddenly the sound of shattering glass and some moaning could be heard.

Mai watched the screen intensely and noticed something funny about the bottom left monitor. Her eyes widened. "Naru, look at the bottom screen!"

His eyes quickly flicked towards the screen and he looked slightly surprised when he saw that there was a strange distortion in the picture. It was the camera from the master bedroom.

Naru sighed, "It cracked the lens."

"Does that mean that the psychic activity is higher in that room?" Mai asked Naru while following the strange cracks in the lens with her eyes.

"Not necessarily. We'll need to investigate further in order to find the source." Naru continued to rewind the tapes and watch each monitor. "For now we'll set up the thermo graphic cameras in that room and several others in various places where the temperature seems lower and see what information that gives us."

Mai took that as her cue to test the temperature in each room while having John help her set up each camera accordingly. After this John went off to find Ayako and the others while Mai made her way back to the base. Entering she found Lin typing away on the computer, as usual, and Naru nowhere in sight. Mai carefully backed out of the room and quietly shut the door behind her. Lin-san had his headphones on probably recording any noises that may prove as evidence to the story behind this case, Mai thought it best not to disturb him in case she made him miss something vital.

Mai sighed. She loved the trips with the SPR because of getting to be with everyone and secretly for getting to spend nights out with Naru. But Naru usually disappeared randomly doing different forms of research and it was always difficult to find him. Mai was about to head back to her room when suddenly from behind her a booming voice exclaimed, "Mai-chan, what are you doing here alone?! We don't want you getting into anymore trouble. I thought we already explained this to you. Well I guess I'll have to assign myself as your bodyguard!" Bou-san said as he slung an arm over her shoulders and steered her towards the bedrooms.

"Now, I'm going to leave you here with Masako and Ayako. Now play nice and don't cause any trouble okay?" he added and pranced off in the direction of the base. Mai who was blushing out of embarrassment from Bou-san's weird way of cheering people up quickly shook it off and entered to join the other two.

"Masako, Ayako." Mai said as greeting when she entered. But the reply she got surprised her.

"Hello, Mai." She was looking into the dark blue eyes of none other than Naru.

"Naru? What are you doing here; I thought that Masako and Ayako were waiting for me here." Mai asked, confused. Her eyes were spinning slightly and there were many questions running through her head that she couldn't seem to find the answers for.

"I was waiting for you." A strange smirk that Mai had never seen Naru use before appeared and he took Mai's hand in his and whispered in her ear, "I have something to show you. I'm sure you'll like it."

Mai flushed and unable to do anything about it was dragged through the hallway and out back into the empty air. Out in the light of the afternoon sun Mai thought Naru looked a little different, quite unlike both the Naru from her dreams and the one from real life. Mai tugged on her hand, trying to pull free.

The firm grip wouldn't let go. "Naru?" she tried. He was headed in the direction of the cliff. Mai's eyes widened. She had escaped last time through luck. How was she expected to live through it this time?

The fake Naru came to a stop a few yards away from the cliff's edge and turned to face her. "Why did you have to do that? We were happy once remember? I won't let you hurt anyone else!" he pulled out a knife as he finished talking. Holding it up to the light the sheen ran down the blade and made Mai's stomach do flip-flops. Was there a way to escape this? And what was he talking about? Isn't this usually what happened in her dreams? Why was something like this manifesting in reality? Mai tried but failed in coming up with a reason for it. She saw the knife flick towards her and she screamed as she suddenly felt like the world had turned on slow-motion. She knew that he was using a lot of his strength to try to plunge the knife into her but she then heard, "Nau maksan manda bazara dankan!"

Whatever it was that had taken Naru's form was surprised and the knife became intangible and fell through her and then vanished. "What was that?" Mai asked as her knees gave out from fright.

"Mai-chan are you okay?" Bou-san asked as he ran up to her. She was shaking uncontrollably and when she felt Bou-san touch her shoulder she shied away. "How do I know you're really you?"

Bou-san stared for a moment and then smiled. "Because there's no way that a ghost could copy my… unique personality." He helped her up and took her inside where Ayako was ordered to prepare some tea in Mai's place.

**A/N: OOOOOooooo! What do you think happened there? Was it too boring? Do you think I picked on Mai too much? I do already have most of this case worked out and the ending to this chapter was actually spontaneous, I hadn't planned it in the beginning but I thought that it need a little push and there's a very small hint towards a little NaruXMai which I hope to incorporate more in future chapters. I'm trying to focus more on plot development and getting interesting case files to roll out. Again, as always, I'd like to ask for opinions of any sorts whether about character improvement. Perhaps wanting to see more of a character, new case file ideas, or anything you can think of really. I look forward to hearing your opinions about the fanfic! Thank you for reading! And see you next chapter! By the way, be happy that this one didn't end in a cliffy!**

**~Akinaxx**


	7. File 2: Until Death Do Us Part, Part 3

Ghost Hunt: My Continuation

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own any part of Ghost Hunt…**

Key:

Normal

_Dream_

File 2: Until Death Do Us Part, Part 3

Mai was shivering slightly and wrapped up in a blanket when Naru placed a hot cup of tea in her hands. For a moment Mai stared first at the cup and then allowed her eyes to meet with the one who'd given it to her. They stared at each other for a moment, Mai with unease and Naru with nonchalant impatience. "Drink it, you'll feel better." He ordered her and then went to Lin's side by the monitors where they seemed to be replaying the last events and trying to piece together what was paranormal activity and what wasn't; based off of what she had recounted of the past few hours.

Mai was watching them intently out of the corner of her eye when Ayako came and sat next to her. "Mai, are you okay? You still seem to be a little shocked." She asked out of pure concern. In truth Mai was a little worse for wear. She herself could see her knees shaking together and more than anyone knew how faint she felt at the moment, almost like a weightless entity in a room with a very intense and rather heavy atmosphere. No one could figure out what had happened to her outside or where the issue started. "Yea its jus-"she was about to give her reply when she heard Naru mumble, "It's there."

Everyone whipped around to see where and what they had dealt with but unfortunately "it" was a terribly fuzzy shot that lasted mere milliseconds on the monitors, so much so that it was nearly undetectable. Mai who had gotten up from her seat to get a look at what they found stared at Naru, impressed. "Naru, you found that slight distortion?" she inquired as she tried to refocus her eyes in order make something out of the image. Something seemed to be standing in between her and what she believed to be Bou-san as they were saying their farewells, and as they flipped through the slides Mai caught what appeared to be bright wavy hair flying at unimaginable speeds through the wall.

Mai was about to tell Naru about her strange dream when he gave an unnecessary answer to her earlier inquiry, "Of course, after all someone like you would never have enough patience to find such a thing." Mai snapped her mouth shut and for a moment said nothing. She sipped her tea in an effort to keep from retorting.

Bou-san, holding back a snicker, patted Mai on the back as he said, "Well, I guess this footage begs the question, who's our perpetrator?"

Everyone was quiet in response until Mai decided to speak up. "Actually, I think I may have a clue." The whole team turned on her, except Naru, even Lin had an ear perked in interest as they awaited the information that they hoped to gain from her psychic dreams.

The attention made her nervous and Mai found that she had to tuck some stray hair behind her ear before she could begin to explain the odd events that had unfolded within her dream. She talked of the couple and the affair, before finally allowing her voice to fade into the silence that now penetrated the room. For a long time, no one spoke and it seemed like no one would, that everyone would forever be frozen in their silence.

That is, until Masako chuckled lightly and sidled over to Naru in that arrogant way of hers. She clung to his arm and pronounced to the room, "Well, we don't have to figure anything out just yet, if we rush into things just because Mai said so we'll all end up doing something we'll regret."

This remark left Mai with a large scowl. Masako had purposefully made a stab at her and a move on Naru but she had cleverly disguised this as a way to end the impending silence. Unable to think of anything better as the whole group was now staring avidly at Masako, Mai cleared her throat and while standing from her chair she meekly excused herself, "I guess it's about time for bed. See you guys tomorrow!" After this she skittered off and left the others to be baffled by her odd behavior.

Mai fumed as she made her way down the hall to her, Ayako, and Masako's room. In her rage she threw open the door and stomped over to her bed. The image of Masako clinging to Naru floated into her mind. It taunted her for several minutes before she angrily pounced onto her bed and curled up prepared to drown her frustration in sleep.

_It was raining. Although it was raining Mai found herself completely dry. Her body seemed to have no physical form on this plane. After realizing this she squinted out into the storm and found two blotchy figures stood off in the distance. Curious, she walked forward until the hazy outlines became two definite people. One was a woman with long wavy hair, but that's all she was able to discern of the person. They stood the furthest from Mai and it was hard to tell whose wavy locks were playing in the wind cast by the storm. The other figure was the man she'd seen from the window in her previous dream. He stood but a yard in front of her, and as she drew closer the gusts of the storm carried their words to her._

"_Why did you have to do that? We were happy once, remember? I won't let you hurt anyone else!" The girl screamed hysterically and ran at the man with a large kitchen knife which she held tightly clenched in her hand. It seemed that she was going to stab straight through his heart when a sudden blur came in between him and the blade. It was his lover, the lovely brunette that had been making him smile and laugh uncontrollably before. Her face was now grim as she stared down the weapon till the last second where it cut deeply into her chest and sent flecks of blood flying out in all directions. _

_Her screams of agony could be heard from miles away. Mai was certain of that and as she looked back to the hysterical woman who was willing to kill her husband, she noticed something weird. The confidence and rage she'd been all too ready to use as fuel to empower her with the courage she needed to drive the knife through her husband's heart had disappeared. After seeing the young girl bleeding on ground, weak and defenseless she gave out a small cry herself. It wasn't so much a cry of sorrow as it was a cry of frustration. The woman sank to her knees and stared at the knife as if hypnotized by its new red sheen. _

_The man whom the young girl had saved just stared back and forth between the two females with terror in his eyes, and before long he'd tried to run away towards his cabin. From the ground the lady saw the man through the sheets of pouring rain and without a thought ran after him. The young girl was now quickly forgotten even though she was still breathing. _

_Unable to do anything to help her Mai turned her attention towards the married couple that was now feuding on the cliffs edge. Back and forth they squabbled like little kids. _

_The woman's shouts could be heard even over the pounding droplets that continued to beat the ground without remorse. "What did you think you were going to do? Were you planning on running off with her and eloping?" she asked him. _

_No answer came; the man just stood there and stared at her with clenched fists._

_She continued, "Oh, I get it, you were messing around with that little whore because you felt dissatisfied with me, right? Isn't that how your ego works? I know you, better than you know yourself. I thought it was too good to be true when you finally decided to marry me. Your playboy ways will never end and I think that's something that we'll both need to accept." Her words were met with a growling. _

_The man had started tearing at his hair while mumbling in a rather loud voice, "This isn't how it's supposed to be! I didn't want this to happen! She led me on. She only came over that once, she just wanted me to fix something for her. That night, she must have drugged the food because I can't remember anything from that night!" Tears mixed with rain water on his cheeks. He tried to wipe them away but as he was soaking wet, it became impossible to completely dry his eyes._

"_You may want to believe that, but I know better. You used to love cute little whores like her who flaunt their assets and make you feel like you're king of the world. Despite knowing this, I married you. Do you know what disappoints me most about that decision? It's that I couldn't take off the blindfold I was wearing all that time. Today it ends. We are no longer husband and wife. Goodbye, Masahiro." With that she went to turn towards the cabin, probably so that she could pack her things, but she stopped suddenly and her eyes grew to the size of Frisbees._

_Without a sound she fell backwards, and over the edge of the cliff to the waiting waves below. As she fell a knife protruded from her back, and Masahiro saw the young girl watch the woman fall into the ocean with a blank expression on her face. She had obviously snuck up behind her while she was arguing with her husband and stabbed her. Masahiro stared at her with rage in his eyes. "Why?" he asked her while struggling to hold down his anger._

"_Because she got in our way." She said with a sickening smile, "Don't you like it when we're together?"_

_Masahiro didn't answer her. Instead he wrapped his hands around her neck and began to slowly tighten his grip. The girl's eyes grew big with fear and she clawed his hands in an attempt to get him to release her, but he wouldn't let go. As the life drained from her face Masahiro held her limp body over the crashing waves and allowed her to slowly slip from his fingers and into her foamy, sea grave. _

_The scene faded to black and the rain stopped. White lights appeared all around Mai and it brought her back from the terror she had just witnessed. _

_A light tap on her shoulder made her jump and when she turned around she was face to face with Naru. He had a worried expression that turned his features kinder than he usually was in her dreams. "I'm sorry, that scene was very important and I didn't know if you would be able to figure it out from that brief dream I showed you before." He whispered as if he thought that if he spoke any louder Mai would go into some traumatic breakdown. _

_She smiled at him, glad for his concern and said, "Its fine, I'm fine. I'm glad you showed me that, it clears a little bit up and I know what to do with this information once I wake up. Don't worry about me." She smiled at him again, "I've seen worse things before, and I can handle it." Then without further conversation she waved goodbye to Naru and ran off towards consciousness._

**Day 3**

Mai awoke with a start. It was early morning, Ayako and Masako slept peacefully on either side of her. At first Mai considered waiting until everyone woke up to tell them about her dream, but she felt that it was too important. Quietly, so as not to wake the others she dressed and snuck out headed for the base.

When she opened the door to the base she had expected it to be empty but Lin was working hard going through the material that they'd caught over the past twenty-four hours. When she searched the room to see if anyone else was up she saw that Naru was fast asleep on a couch they'd dragged in when setting up the base.

Hoping that Lin would hear her she crept over to Naru and smiled down at his sleeping face. It reminded her of their first case when she'd arrived early in the morning at her school's supposedly haunted building to find Naru asleep in the back of his van. He'd looked just as handsome then as he did now. A stray hair fell into his eyes and without thinking Mai brushed it aside.

"Taniyama-san?"

Mai jumped. Holding back a shriek she turned around to face Lin who was staring at her. He didn't seem angry, which was a relief to Mai, but he did seem surprised.

"I didn't mean to frighten you. What are you doing up so early?" he asked her while slightly leaning over to check on Naru who was still sleeping soundly.

Mai could feel the blush rise to her cheeks as she thought about what she'd done, but she shook her head as she remembered her dream. "I had one of those dreams again, and I thought that I should share it as soon as possible." She explained to him.

His eyes lit up with understanding and urgency. After pressing something the large panel that hooked up to all of the equipment he stood and went to Naru's side. Mai took a few steps back unsure of what he was up to. Lin said Naru's name a couple times while shaking him slightly to rouse him.

Naru opened his eyes slowly. Upon seeing Lin's urgency he sat up and while rubbing his eyes asked, "Lin, what happened?" Lin turned his gaze on Mai, which was enough of an answer for Naru. "Mai, what happened?" he asked again.

Mai looked around the room uncomfortably for a second before replying, "I had one of those dreams again. I have more information."

Naru's eyes hardened. As he listened to the story his features never changed once and when Mai finished he simply sat in contemplation.

Nervous, Mai asked, "Does this mean that it was Masahiro-san?"

Naru shook his head before replying, "No, from the information we received from Kagami-san records show that her uncle, the one who originally owned this property, was named Masahiro. Being that he only died recently, and the paranormal activity began before his death shows that Masahiro-san's spirit isn't the culprit."

"So it's one of the other two." Lin sighed, "Well it fits with the footage. The figure that tricked Mai had long wavy hair."

Mai sighed out of relief; at least they knew that a spirit was the cause and that it was probably seeking revenge. She hoped that Bou-san would be able to take care of it.

- Time Skip -

"Nope. Can't do it." Bou-san regrettably informed the group after his fifth attempt at exorcizing the spirit. They had alternated several times in between Bou-san and John, but for some reason their abilities seemed to have little to no effect.

Naru had left again after the first couple of tries, and being on their own, as a group they decided to try a few more times. Now they'd finally given up. "Guess there's not much we can do until the spirit becomes active again." Bou-san sighed in defeat and walked away with John, intent on changing their clothes.

Mai sulked on one of the chairs in the base while Ayako tried to talk Lin into telling her where Naru always disappeared to. Needless to report on that outcome, Lin ignored her.

Soon everyone except Mai had filed out of the base and she was left alone with her thoughts. With all the talk and random squabble that had gone on around her she's been left in a daze that was only broken once the door to the base opened and Naru stepped in.

He looked around and once he spotted Mai swiftly made his way over to her. Slightly taken aback at his fast approach Mai stuttered, "N-Naru! Where were you? Everyone's been asking about you!"

Naru didn't say anything at first he just stared at her a moment before he gave her a very light smile, one that reminded her ever so slightly of the ones she often received from him in her dreams. He made a wordless gesture for her to follow him, and at first Mai was hesitant. She'd been led astray on this case once already if she were to fall into a similar trap she wouldn't be able to face the humiliation or pay whatever the expedition might cost her.

As Mai looked back at Naru she noticed that his gaze was penetrating and it was like all of her worries were being washed away. A strange calmness came over her and she followed him outside in a zombie-like state.

Naru led her back by the cliff, but he made no indication that he planned on getting closer to the edge. This placated some of Mai's earlier worries and she turned her gaze on Naru once more. He hadn't said anything to her as they walked out and even now the only thing he did was stare out at the waves. "Naru?" she asked while trying to gain his attention. "Why'd you bring me out here? Did you get a lead on the case?"

For a long moment nothing happened. He just stood and watched as the sun began to set. Then when the sun was halfway dunked into the ocean he turned and told her, "It's time."

Mai looked at him, puzzled. "Time for what?" she asked him.

He folded his arms in thought and explained. For some reason these spirits seem to think that you're involved with what happened here however many years ago. Without you there's no visible footage. When you're surrounded by the rest of us we normally get invisible reactions. Only when you're alone do we actually see any of the activity occurring."

Mai nodded. This was true, she had realized earlier that morning that no one else seemed particularly afflicted by the ghosts trapped in this place in quite the same way she had. "So, what do you plan to do?" she asked.

He stared at her, making her feel a bit uncomfortable as his eyes bore into hers. "I plan on using you as bait." He answered coldly.

**A/N: Hey everybody! It's been a long time, I know, and I apologize for that, I want to update more often, but this year is so crazy that I really can't make any promises. I will honestly try very hard to get the next chapter up as it will be the end of this file! Exciting! Also, I'm interested to hear your opinions on the story as a whole, as well as who you think the spirit is that's haunting the house on the cliff! Sorry if some parts seem longer than necessary, I was trying to give an adequate background of the house's history. Anyway, I hope to hear from all of you soon! Who knows, maybe if I get tons of reviews I'll update faster! ;)**

**Ja ne!**

**~Akinaxx**


	8. File 2: Until Death Do Us Part, Part 4

Ghost Hunt: My Continuation

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Ghost Hunt… I know, it's depressing to hear isn't it?**

File 2: Until Death Do Us Part, Part 4

_Previously:_

_Naru stared at Mai, making her feel a bit uncomfortable as his eyes bore into hers. "I plan on using you as bait." He answered coldly._

Mai's eyes widened. "What!" she yelped.

Naru just stared straight ahead of him.

"But, what am I supposed to… how do you expect me to… but why?" she asked him in a rush.

Naru raised an eyebrow at her. "You really are slow; I just explained it all to you."

Mai's face flushed. Naru always knew how to make a fool out of her and although she hated that aspect about him she couldn't help but trust him. With an unhappy sigh she tried again, "What I meant was, why are you using this method when there are others to choose from?" She made sure that her words were chosen carefully and she tried to sound as intelligent as she could in front of Naru. He was always quick to tear down her attempts at being the problem solver.

He let out a slight sigh as if her were explaining something simple to a child. "Can you think of any other method that would be as effective as this one? If we continue any longer with this investigation more people will get hurt and nothing will be solved." He told her as calmly as always; his confident demeanor forbidding her from questioning his resolve any further.

Mai bit her lip as she thought the idea over. True, more people would be put in danger if they overstayed their welcome, but was it truly the best idea? For some reason this all seemed a bit rushed to Mai. Why was Naru being so insistent on using solely this method without any signs of a backup plan? She weighed her own thoughts versus her trust in Naru's reasoning and eventually her never-ending faith in his intellect won.

With a resigned nod she agreed, "Alright, what do you want me to do?"

XXXXX

**Day 4**

It was early in the morning and Mai found herself sitting Indian style in the middle of the grassy field in front of the house, a rope tied around her waist. She thought back on the conversation she and Bou-san had had as he'd secured the tether around her.

_Mai looked down at the rope as Bou-san tightened the knot. "What's this for?" she tugged at the binding out of a mix of discomfort and curiosity._

_Bou-san gently returned her hands to her sides. "It's just in case you happen to…" he trailed off, it seemed like he couldn't force himself to say 'in case you happen to fall off the cliff again.'_

She was brought back to reality when Ayako placed a hand on her shoulder, "Are you sure you want to do this?" Her eyes were filled to the brim with concern and it pained Mai to see someone whom she thought of as an older sister (well actually, more like an aunt, but Ayako would have killed her for saying so...) looking at her with such a worried expression.

She forced herself to flash a confident grin before laughing, "Its fine! If everything goes as Naru planned, I'll be perfectly safe!" Or so she hoped. In truth Mai was desperately hiding the subtle tremors that were spreading throughout various parts of her body.

Ayako seemed to catch on to Mai's determination and quickly joined the others as Naru started phase one of the plan, that is, isolating Mai. He had John draw a circle big enough for everyone except Mai into the dirt and then had him sprinkle salt in the grooves of the circle. Mai had heard Naru explain earlier that these circles were often used as barriers against various supernatural beings. She didn't know for certain if the effects would work on a ghost, but according to Lin, it kept his Shiki trapped well enough.

With that done there was nothing more for them to do but wait.

For a long moment Mai sat alone shivering slightly as she tried to grab hold of her senses. Naru wouldn't let anything happen to her, right? There was nothing to fear, but once the circle had been completed Mai felt utterly alone. She could still see her friends standing a short distance away, but she couldn't feel the comfort of their presence.

Mai wanted to call out to them, beg them to help her, but she k new that such an idea was pointless. She had to stay put until the malevolent spirit showed up, and when it did she would have to figure out who it was and tell Bou-san before it got the chance to dispose of her.

A finality and sense of necessity had just begun to calm her trembling limbs when an icy wind whipped her hair, and random bits of dirt into her eyes. For a second, she was blinded. As she attempted to erase the mess from her vision a cold laugh echoed all around her.

"Think you've found yourself a husband? Guess you didn't see the ring around his finger!" the callous tone sent renewed shivers down her back and made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. The next few minutes ticked by slowly and besides the continuous drop in temperature, nothing happened. Then, with sudden force and ferocity the voice rang out once more, "DIE YOU LITTLE WHORE! GO SCREW SOMEONE ELSE'S HUSBAND!"

"!" Mai's scream pierced the night air as she felt an invisible entity push her from her spot on the grass to some area ten meters away. She rolled on her side and tried to push herself up, but suddenly felt herself get lifted off the ground by her hair. As she struggled, kicking her legs in the open air, and clawing at whatever was trying to scalp her; she opened her eyes, fighting against the pain erupting in her head.

In front of her she saw what looked like white mist. She tried to look closer but her vision became foggy and soon Mai found herself unconscious, surrounded by empty blackness, and floating orbs.

She looked around, confused, and searching subconsciously for Naru. As there was no sight of him she sighed and looked around. It seemed like the normal setting for when Naru would arrive, but he wasn't there. Mai contemplated returning to the real world when a bright light began to shine in front of her. She looked at it, squinting against the bright rays. It felt like someone was telling her to go into it and before she knew it, Mai was inside another dream.

_Everything was exactly as she'd just seen it. All of the members of SPR were gathered together in a protective circle and there she was hanging in the air about ten meters from the rest. Except, there was something different this time, there was someone hovering in front of her pained form. A woman with long golden hair hung limply in the air before her._

_She was muttering something and Mai was about to draw closer when the women lifted her head up. The murderous aura she began to emit, and the bloodthirsty glare that she was giving Mai's unconscious body was shaking the very ground she stood on. "Why?" the spirit asked. "Why Masahiro-san? What could that bitch ever give you that I couldn't?" Her previously questioning and heartbroken tone quickly changed to the malicious one from earlier, but it had a slightly sugarcoated tone to it this time, "Don't worry, I'll be sure to drag the dirty bitch to HELL with me!" She then let loose a cackle and Mai was forced backward._

The vision was over and Mai could vaguely hear the spirits whispered words. She looked over to her companions and shouted out, "It's the wife! She doesn't know that the lover died that day and she must know that it was the lover that stabbed her…" Mai was overwhelmed by the ghost's emotions and she couldn't help but feel some empathetic connection.

Bou-san quickly left the circle, his action forcing the spirit to recognize both of them. Bou-san brought his hands up in the position meant for higher level and much more dangerous spirits and began chanting.

It worked well enough. Mai was let down, not very lightly mind, but she met the ground gladly. She allowed herself to stay there, exhaustion washing over her like waves. The confusion of everyone trying to take control of the situation made her look up.

Lin-san had called on his shiki and they seemed to be holding the spirit in a proverbial corner while Bou-san attempted to finish her off and get her to pass on.

She didn't seem to be too keen on their idea. A great force seemed to erupt, the strong wind being too much for Mai to resist. Yet again she felt a strange sense of weightlessness as she saw the cliff's edge appear in her line of sight. She was falling, down towards the waves, like that woman had many hears before. She was falling, and there was no one there to catch her. Mai closed her eyes, too tired to be afraid of death.

Suddenly, the sensation of falling was gone and Mai opened one of her eyes to a squint to see what was going on. The situation she was in was similar to floating in mid-air. A thin tug around her middle made her remember the rope Bou-san had fastened around her earlier. She looked up to see everyone, even Naru looking over the cliff, yelling to her, and pulling at the rope.

She let her head fall back for a moment as the swell of relief permeated her being. Soon she had reached the top and Mai couldn't hold back the tears the blurred her vision. "Thank you." She murmured, not knowing what else to say to people that she owed her life to time and time again.

Mai still couldn't see well but everyone around her seemed to back away a little bit as a figure clad in black kneeled down before her. She felt an arm wrap around her shoulders as Naru told her, "Good work."

With that the arm retreated and Ayako came into focus. She wiped the tears that had stained Mai's cheeks and pulled her in for a hug. "What happened to the spirit?" she asked, not sure on the details since she'd been a little out of it.

"Bou-san dealt the finishing blow just as she knocked you off the cliff. Hopefully she's resting peacefully now." Ayako explained softly. Mai sighed, relieved by the finishing of the case and of the relaxed vibe that was filling her up from head to toe.

XXXXX

Later that day the SPR team was packing up their van and saying goodbye to the owner of the house. She had found a photo album that had a picture of Masahiro-san as well as the other ladies.

Apparently the girl that started all the trouble was a psychic medium, although many from her village believed her to be a fake and she had had some vision regarding Masahiro-san and had come to check it out. Anyway, she'd ended up falling in love with Masahiro-san and that was how the whole mess got started.

When Mai saw the picture of the young psychic girl she felt a strange pull in her gut. The girl she was looking at looked remarkably like Mai. They had the same hair and I color, obviously with differences in length and style, but their facial structure was almost exactly identical.

"Strange isn't it?" Maria-san asked upon seeing Mai's perplexed expression.

She nodded dumbly and then held the picture up for Naru to see. "Ne, ne! Naru, have you seen this? She looks just like me! This must be why the spirit was so fixated on me!" Mai waved the picture under his nose as she said all this, but Naru pretended that she wasn't there and swatted the photo away like it was a fly.

"It's about time we left." He remarked coolly. Upon those words everyone piled into the two separate vehicles and said their goodbyes to Maria-san.

On their way back to Tokyo, Lin asked the moody Naru, "You already knew about their resemblance didn't you?"

Naru said nothing and just stared out the window.

Lin smirked, "I thought so."

**A/N: Phew! Wow, okay, that file took forever to write! If you have any questions about what happened don't be afraid to ask! It was a confusing chapter! Also IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA FOR A CASE, PLEASE SHARE! I'm in desperate need for ideas, and if no one responds to this I will resort to immense research until I find something interesting to write about! **

**Anyway, I thank you for sticking with me till this point and I'm excited to hear your opinions, questions, and concerns!**

**Please R&R!**

**Ja ne!**

**~Akinaxx**


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